Chapter 454: The Aftermath

“Yes, yes, Xiao Zishan has specially arranged an elder’s supply box for you. It has everything from clean clothes to food.” Bei Wei saw that the few of them looked to be in good spirits, just a little disheveled. Except for Mendoza, they were all bearded. Because of the hot weather, they were all wearing tattered cotton short-sleeved shirts and shorts.

The group welcomed Bei Wei into the camp. After a few days of construction, it had taken on a rudimentary form. Zhou Weisen said the food was a bit poor—every day it was a hodgepodge of grass-fed compressed rations and seafood porridge. They had managed to get a few barrels of salt pork and cured beef, as well as some cheese, from the Spanish ship, but their appearance and smell were quite terrifying. They were enjoyed by the Spanish prisoners along with the weevil-infested biscuits.

Because the repairs on the San Raimundo were not yet complete, the Haitian had to stay here for a few more days. To speed up the repairs, more tools were brought from the Haitian to help with the work.

Bei Wei and the others took this opportunity to go to the site of the Nongchao’s wreck again to inspect the hull and see if there was any possibility of salvage—they had to make a report to the Executive Committee.

The result of the inspection was that the ship was severely damaged. Zhou Weisen conducted a snorkeling exploration and found that there was major damage to the underwater hull, and some of the ship’s ribs were deformed. Even if they spent a great deal of effort to refloat and right it, it could not be towed back to Lingao for repairs.

After sending a report to Lingao, they quickly received a response: dispose of the Nongchao on site, leaving as little wreckage as possible.

The sailors immediately dismantled everything that could be used: navigation instruments and equipment, fire control equipment, sails, rigging, and some detachable ship materials—including the exposed propeller. As for the light weapons and ammunition on board, and the ship’s tools, they had already been brought ashore before the typhoon hit and did not need to be salvaged. The ammunition for the large cannons was too heavy and had to be abandoned. Then, they used a capstan and pulleys to salvage the anchor and anchor chain, one 100mm main gun, and two 75mm secondary guns from the reef. The other cannons were either sunk too deep or were nowhere to be found.

Finally, they removed the helm and the ship’s bell from the Nongchao. The marines placed high-density black powder charges on the remaining hull. To be cautious, they specially drilled holes in the hull and dropped explosive charges into the engine room.

On the afternoon of July 29th, after all personnel had saluted the wreckage of the Nongchao, the explosives were detonated. The wreckage of the Nongchao was blown to pieces, with no part remaining above the water.

Then, the Haitian weighed anchor and towed the San Raimundo back. On the wide deck of the galleon, the Marine Corps fired three volleys into the sky, and the formation set sail. On Samar Island, only two small stone tablets were left on a small hill by the coast. One was the “Hunger” victory monument, and the other commemorated the sinking of the Nongchao and the four naval soldiers who died here.

Not far from these two monuments, there was another tombstone lying on the ground, where the crew members of the San Raimundo who had died were buried.

In Lingao, the sinking of the Nongchao had been communicated to the elders. Shan Liang submitted a proposal to the Standing Committee of the Senate, demanding a detailed investigation into the entire incident, a questioning of the Executive Committee, and an investigation into the procedural legality of the specific command of this naval operation. Du Wen, on the other hand, published an article in the “Morning Star” magazine titled “A Critique of the Great Harm Caused by Opportunism and Adventurism to the Transmigration Cause,” denouncing this operation from the very beginning as an adventurous act carried out by a group of opportunistic elements with inflated selfish desires, which did not conform to the planned, disciplined, and big-picture-oriented action principles that transmigrators should have.

Naturally, there were also heated debates about whether to save people or ships in a crisis. For a time, the question of whether an elder or a Type 901 gunboat was more important, and whether an elder or American silver was more important, was also raised, filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Obviously, no one dared to say that a 901 was more important than an elder—this was a serious political incorrectness in Lingao. But it became entangled with the subsequent attack on the San Raimundo. Did Zhou Weisen and Lin Chuanqing’s risky attack on the enemy when they themselves were in an unsafe situation contain an element of adventurism to absolve themselves of their mistakes?

As the matter became a hot topic, at Qian Shuiting’s suggestion, a committee on the sinking of the Nongchao was formed to conduct a special investigation.

The investigation committee held several hearings on this issue and then issued a report:

First, the committee believed that Operation Hunger was legal—it was an operation formally approved through a proposal and vote according to the Senate’s military and political proposal system. The committee reminded the elders that individual elders had the right to question the rationality and necessity of the operation, but they had no right to deny its legality. Any statement denying the legality of the operation would be regarded as contempt for the authority of the Senate.

Second, regarding whether Lin Chuanqing’s act of abandoning the ship to ensure safety was an act of cowardice, the committee believed that although according to the testimony provided by naval witnesses, the general method when a ship encounters a typhoon is to sail the ship to the open sea, which has a greater chance of saving the ship, of course, there is also a certain probability of the ship being destroyed and the crew perishing.

For a ship with no faults, fully manned and equipped, to seek shelter on the shore during a typhoon is a practice of “saving the people, not the ship,” which is a serious violation of military discipline in the navy. However, the committee also pointed out that according to the Senate’s guiding ideology of “elders are the primary productive force” and “the interests of elders are paramount,” Lin Chuanqing’s act of abandoning the ship was not only to ensure his own safety but also to preserve the personal safety of the three elders Zhou Weisen, Sun Xiao, and Mendoza. His measures were appropriate.

Third, Zhou Weisen and Lin Chuanqing’s attack on the San Raimundo was completely within the framework of Operation Hunger’s mission. The mission given to Operation Hunger was to attack the Manila galleon and seize its ship and cargo as the situation dictated. From this point of view, as long as the mission was not declared over, any attack by Zhou Weisen and Lin Chuanqing on the Manila galleon was reasonable and legal.

Fourth, regarding the trade-offs in the decision to return, whether it constituted interference by Zhou Weisen and others in Lin Chuanqing’s command. The committee believed that from a legal point of view, none of the elders in the formation were responsible. According to the “Elder Military and Political Consultation System” currently formulated by the Senate, when multiple elders are present and their opinions cannot be unified, major decisions must be decided by a vote. Therefore, this vote and its result were both legal. However, the committee clearly pointed out that this system has serious drawbacks in practical application, easily leading to a situation where laymen interfere with expert command and “everyone has the right, but no one is responsible.” It was recommended that the Senate reform this issue to ensure that rights and responsibilities are integrated.

Finally, the committee pointed out in its conclusion that the loss of a warship was certainly painful, but in a conquest operation, the loss of warships and ships was an unavoidable matter. As long as it was proven that the commanding officers did not make mistakes in their specific command, no one should be held responsible for such losses.

After this conclusion was read out in the Senate, it was passed by a two-thirds majority vote. Qian Shuiting was not surprised by this. No one dared to touch the high-voltage line of whether an elder or a 901 was more important. Therefore, it was difficult to use this to deny Operation Hunger—not to mention the rich spoils of war captured in this operation.

However, this incident also had another impact, which was the passing of the “Military and Major Action Command Act” submitted by Dongmen Chuiyu. It stipulated that the command of any military action and major action must be given a target-oriented requirement by the Senate and the Executive Committee, and then a plan would be formulated by the General Staff Department and handed over to the commander for specific execution.

During execution, all strategic and tactical decisions would be made by the commander. Other elders could only provide suggestions on the means of execution and could not interfere with decision-making, thus avoiding the problem of everyone making decisions and no one taking responsibility in such major actions.

While the hearing and investigation were being conducted, the Planning Commission conducted a comprehensive inventory of the two galleons towed to Lingao. Originally, both ships were to be moored at the quarantine anchorage for a period of time before the holds were opened for inspection. But the Executive Committee couldn’t wait and finally decided to immediately disinfect the entire ship.

The remaining chlorine gas brought back by the Haitian was pumped into the holds of the San Raimundo to carry out a large-scale poisoning of the ship’s interior. The facts proved that chlorine gas was very effective. Afterwards, hundreds of dead rats and countless insects were cleared from the various cabins below the decks of both ships.

The medics, wearing isolation suits, sprayed disinfectant inside the ships. Then, the sealed cargo was moved up one by one, registered, and then loaded onto small trains to be taken to the quarantine warehouse for unpacking, inspection, and verification.

The quarantine warehouse area was very large—all imported goods had to be quarantined and inspected here, and if necessary, disinfected. In fact, this was the main job of the Lingao customs at present.

The warehouse prepared for the Manila galleons was the largest one. Under a roof supported by huge iron trusses, crates and boxes of spoils of war were being pushed in on rail cars, arranged one by one according to their area.

More than a hundred naturalized citizens were brought in. They came from various departments: customs, the Planning Commission, the police, the army, and students from Fangcaodi. Now they were all dressed in white isolation suits, tied at the back, with no pockets, and wearing hats, protective glasses, and gloves.

“Form teams of five and open and inspect the packages one by one!” Sun Xiao, wearing the same clothes, shouted through a megaphone. “All items must be announced and registered. Report any abnormalities immediately! Begin now!”

The Planning Commission was most concerned about precious metals—this was also the main target of this operation. Therefore, any reinforced small iron-bound chests that might contain silver or gold were the priority to be opened. One by one, the chests were opened, and their contents were spread out on special trays, to be registered and counted by dedicated personnel. The gold coins, silver coins, gems, and pearls that were constantly being taken out immediately made the entire warehouse sparkle with dazzling brilliance.